La Redoute Long-Sleeved Biker-Style Knitted Dress Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
I normally like to try my clothes on before I buy, so have never really bought very many clothes via mail order. I had also heard mixed reviews about the quality of some mail order catalogue items, so was really interested to review an item from La Redoute.
When I was browsing their website, I was surprised by how fashionable yet stylish their collection was. I found a few items that I liked, although several were out of stock, I suppose this is to be expected near Christmas.
I settled on the knitted biker dress as I wanted something that could be worn with either tights as a dress, or leggings as a top. I did find it slightly annoying that this (and several of their items) are dual sized. So 6-8, 10-12 and 14-16. I consider myself a pretty standard size 12, but nowhere near a size 10, and definitely not a 14-16. I ummed and ahhed but decided to go for the 10-12 as I know woolly things can be a little stretchy.
The dress arrived within 3 days of order, which I was really impressed with especially as it was 2 weeks before Christmas. It was well packaged in a polythene bag, within a heavy duty postal bag. The dress arrived uncreased and was ready to wear straight out of the bag.
The first thing that struck me was the lovely feel and quality of the knitted fabric. It was a lovely chunky knit, and the pattern that is knitted into it looks lovely. The zip details at the bottom of the dress really set the dress of and made it look nicer than a run of the mill plain dress. The colour is lovely, not a really plain dull grey but a slightly more unusual pewter type colour (it is also available in black).
The dress was thick and warm, I didn’t feel like I needed to wear anything underneath it to keep out the cold and it stayed looking lovely and fresh all day. I really thought it looked and felt like a more expensive item than it was.
It looked as nice on as it does on the website. Size-wise, I would say it was a very generous 10-12 (I actually checked the label to make sure it wasn’t a. 14-16). It fitted me nicely with a bit of room to spare, but I would imagine it might have been a little too loose for a standard size 10.
I’m 5’9″ and sometimes struggle with the sleeves on dresses but these were a really nice length. The dress looked just as good with tights, leggings and even with skinny jeans as a slouchy jumper.
I have washed and dried it twice – at 30 degrees followed by a gentle tumble dry and it’s come out as good as new. It doesn’t need ironing after tumbling which is great; I very rarely iron anything and always choose my clothes according to whether I think they are wash and go or require ironing. The label does say it is not suitable for the tumble dryer, my husband did it in error the first time and it was fine so I decided to tumble the second time too.
I wholeheartedly recommend this dress. Even at the full £35 that it was when I ordered it, I think its good value. I notice it is now down to £17.50 in the sale (as of 17 December 2014), which I think is an absolute bargain.
After this experience, I will be more than happy to order from La Redoute again. The product was lovely, at a good price, and arrived quickly. I’m delighted.
I would rate it 4½ out of 5, it would have been full marks but for the slightly out sizing.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £35
Available to buy from www.laredoute.co.uk.
